{"id":17391,"date":"2012-03-07T04:15:11","date_gmt":"2012-03-07T10:15:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=17391"},"modified":"2012-03-07T14:40:52","modified_gmt":"2012-03-07T20:40:52","slug":"marvel-legends-terraxbuild-a-figure-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=17391","title":{"rendered":"Marvel Legends Terrax
Build-A-Figure Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>With 6\u201d Marvel figures only trickling out in recent years, it seemed like the<\/em> toyline of the early 2000s was deep in slumber. The behemoth is awake now. I know because I just bought some figures I didn\u2019t want to build-a-figure I knew nothing about. That\u2019s the power of Marvel Legends. <\/p>\n

So, some weeks ago, if you asked me who Terrax was… and then reminded me that he was a herald of Galactus, I could\u2019ve told you that he was a herald of Galactus. My awareness of his existence was the sum total of my Terrax knowledge. So the question you have to ask yourself is why would some crazy bastard (and you know he\u2019s crazy because he runs a toy website) go from not knowing who a character really is to snatching up $90 worth of figures (some not terribly wanted) to obtain him? <\/p>\n

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Putting aside the possibility of any deep psychological issues, its two things. One is the simple power of a good figure. Not to spoil this review, but I\u2019ll be fawning over dear Terrax here in a bit. Two is the power of the BAF. When Toy Biz introduced the ML BAFS with Galactus years ago, I was pretty damn impressed (though Hasbro has since bested that Galactus). They followed up with Sentinel, which is still<\/em> one of my favorites to this day and many of the subsequent BAFs turned out pretty nicely as well. <\/p>\n

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Now, the truth is that BAFs aren\u2019t as cool as they used to be \u2013 money and time have had their impact on the BAF like everything else. After the switch from Toy Biz to Hasbro, those first few BAFs were… not quite on par with what had come before. While Marvel Legends was resting, Mattel had some impressive C&Cs, but their internal budget issues and the sad state of DC\u2019s inability to move units capped their size and design. <\/p>\n

Even now that Marvel Legends is back, the BAFs aren\u2019t as magnificent as the days of old, but I’m really happy with the 1.5 BAFs I have so far (can anyone believe ROML2 hit so soon? I am Noisy’s empty wallet) because I do think Hasbro has at least gotten them back to being good figures even if they’re not as impressive as the early offerings. That’s why when I have one or two pieces, I simply tend to want the rest. The same is happening with Arnim Zola right now. <\/p>\n

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For Terrax, it was a slow burn which converted into a desire TRU, Target, & Walmart couldn’t fill fast enough. That helped Iron Man, Klaw & Ghost Rider to come home with me despite my initial intentions. Those figures are varying levels of cool in their own right, but I’d be lying if I said the BAF pieces weren’t a key component in their purchase. And while I know I could buy\/trade just the BAF pieces (another cool aspect, by the way), I find that I do better as the guy that eventually sells\/trades off the unwanted figures to the folks that don\u2019t share my love of the BAF concept enough to learn to love a new character. It was with that attitude, and after a few trips to TRU & Walmart over a few weeks, I happily completed my Terrax. <\/p>\n

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Which raised the important question for me to consider – who is Terrax? Hasbro did some legwork for me by including six inserts (one with each piece) that explained a different aspect of Terrax’s story. I did have to do a little more reading around the ‘net, but those inserts are awesome!<\/p>\n

Turns out, Tyros was an alien dictator that Galactus wanted as a herald. To that end, Galactus maneuvered the Fantastic Four against him and, upon his defeat, converted him into Terrax. He gained all the supercharged heraldness, but he also has mastery over rock. He also carried a big ax – so Terra + Ax = Terrax. Whoo hoo. <\/p>\n

Anyway, he seemingly sucked as a herald, often running afoul of Galactus and getting into various altercations, some of which are outlined in those little inserts. I found them rather amusing, particularly that he got his ass kicked by Dazzler. Nice. <\/p>\n

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Terrax the figure appears to be an entirely new sculpt and one that is definitely intended to be reused for future characters. While the armor, loincloth, and bootcuffs provide much appreciated accuracy and depth, the basic figure underneath is essentially a clean buck. While this is more a page out of Mattel’s playbook, I’m okay with it. It’s got great articulation and I won’t mind seeing it on another future figure – particularly if its covered for by the new pieces as well as it it with Terrax here. <\/p>\n

There is just one tiny little issue that I discovered while reading up on Terrax. He’s kinda supposed be the height of the average hero. I’m not sure how he’s been portrayed in the art over the years, but he’s consistently listed at 6′ 6″ and tends to be more wide than your average dude. That, as Mattel will tell us when it comes to Lead or Ram Man, is not ideal in a buck line. If you’re a Terrax fan, I’d understand if you can’t enjoy this figure being nearly an inch-and-a-half taller than he’s supposed to be, but – by virtue of ignorance – he doesn’t look wrong to me and I rather enjoy the figure. <\/p>\n

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There is one other tiny drawback to the Terrax buck too: the painted glove lines. Not a big deal, we’re all well use to paint delineating features on shared use parts, but it just sticks out like a sore thumb on a figure where it\u2019s the only instance of it happening. If Hasbro is going to continue down this road, I might suggest they swipe one thing from Mattel and that\u2019s to create a library of forearms with different glove lines (which Mattel didn\u2019t annoyingly always use properly themselves). Continue to Page 2…<\/a><\/p>\n

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My super nitpick on the glove line aside and the height issues that might drive me crazy, I love the sculpt. The basic body looks great (and will look great again in the future_. The costume pieces \u2013 the boot tops and the soft slipcovers for his shoulder armor and skirt – look great too. And atop all that is my favorite sculpted piece, the head! I\u2019m usually in favor of neutral expressions, but that\u2019s mainly because \u2018intense\u2019 expressions aren\u2019t always executed well. Terrax is the exception. He manages an open mouth sculpt, essentially a snarl, that looks sharp on the figure from faraway and up-close. <\/p>\n

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The paint was fantastic on most of the pieces I received with only the gold being oversprayed a bit on the belt. Terrax is still light on paint compared to the Marvel Legends of old – most of the pieces are molded they appropriate color, but it works here \u2013 keeping his classic design looking very vibrant on the figure. That\u2019s also aided by the dark wash on his exposed grey skin. It\u2019s very nice quality compared to older Hasbro releases. I’ve heard some feedback that a wash would’ve looked great on the figure and tone down the vibrant final product, but I disagree. He’s a herald of Galactus, so he should always be bright and clean. It works for me, but I do see the flip side. <\/p>\n

The tunic under the armor is painted on, but it looks fine thanks to all the lines being covered by the shoulder armor. Again, the only thing I don\u2019t really like here is the gloves \u2013 the thick glossy red just looks a little out of place when compared to how the rest was done. Especially when I realized the left golve wasn’t done in a shiny gloss, but rather a flatter, deeper red. What’s up with that? <\/p>\n

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What ultimately sold me on Terrax is his articulation. Once assembled this guy sports a ball-jointed neck, shoulders, wrists, hips, and ankles, swivels at the biceps, waist, thighs, and calves, double hinge knees, single hinge elbows, and the ab crunch. Everything works great, but I have to give a special shout out to the ball-jointed ankles. I’ve had these on some Marvel Universe and Joe figures already and I love them. The peg from the ball-joint does down into the foot like a foot goes in the shoe. The range is incredible and a welcome change of pace from Mattel’s inability to get ankles back in to DCUC. <\/p>\n

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Terrax included his trademark accessory, which I’m reading is actually considered a scythe. I’m sticking with ax because Terrscythe sounds dumb. It’s a nicely weighted weapon that is big enough that it needs to come in two pieces. Once assembled, it looks like it hopped off the comic page. I would like to have seen it more silver than grey, but I like the sculpt work just fine and as well as the size. <\/p>\n

My only lament is that Terrax can’t hold the axe with both hands. It appears that his holding it down with both hands is a rather trademark pose for him, but this figure can’t do that due to the left fist. Further, the right hand is a little too soft and the axe has tended to get a little droopy if he holds it for long periods. I love the piece itself, but I’m not that fond of how it and Terrrax interact. <\/p>\n

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Overall, Marvel Legends is back! It not only says it right there on the packaging, “The Return of Marvel Legends!”. That kinda cracks me up because it really elevates the status of the original line and punctuates what a long five years it was without the line proper, BAFs and all. The good news is that this wave (and the second wave which is already trickling out… ugh!) seems well worth the wait. <\/p>\n

There are some issues here like his build and the annoying left hand, but overall Terrax turned out to be a pretty badass figure. There’s solid sculpting work, mostly clean paint, and fantastic articulation. I may end up selling off some of the ROML1’s I bought, but I don’t regret picking up Terrax for a second. He’s completely worth it!<\/p>\n

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For more Marvel reviews, check out our Review Index<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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<\/center><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With 6\u201d Marvel figures only trickling out in recent years, it seemed like the toyline of the early 2000s was deep in slumber. The behemoth is awake now. I know because I just bought some figures I didn\u2019t want to build-a-figure I knew nothing about. That\u2019s the power of Marvel Legends.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[122,34,10],"tags":[626,1416,24,2579,2575,1344],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pObc6-4wv","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":16689,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=16689","url_meta":{"origin":17391,"position":0},"title":"Marvel Legends (Terrax Wave) Iron Man & Variant Review","date":"February 5, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I didn\u2019t intend to purchase many new Marvel Legends. I wanted 2012 to be a year of cutting back, selling. But, the figures are getting better - the Seventh Market is expanding, Mattel\u2019s still got their hand in my wallet, and Hasbro? Well, they went and stepped up their six-inch\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Marvel Legends"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17004,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=17004","url_meta":{"origin":17391,"position":1},"title":"Vault Review: Marvel Legends Klaw (Terrax Wave)","date":"February 17, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"It appears we\u2019re actually going to have a complete Terrax to review eventually, but it is slow going getting there.\u00a0 Noisy\u2019s still looking for a blue Ghost Rider, but our biggest obstacles are the characters neither of us really want... Enter Klaw! Ulysses Klaw is a scientist that created a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Marvel Legends"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/klaw1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":16513,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=16513","url_meta":{"origin":17391,"position":2},"title":"Marvel Legends (Terrax Wave) Heroic Age Thor Review","date":"January 30, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u2019s finally here! After being announced nearly a year-and-a-half ago at San Diego 2010, Marvel Legends is back on store shelves in all their 6\u201d glory and with BAF pieces in tow. Our local TRU opened a fresh case this weekend and I happily snapped up Hasbro\u2019s six-inch version of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Marvel Legends"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16462,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=16462","url_meta":{"origin":17391,"position":3},"title":"Vault Review: Marvel Legends’ Hope Summers","date":"January 27, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I had a whole other review planned out for today, but best laid plans go awry easily when you make a minor toy haul from Toys R Us.\u00a0 Not only did I discover the first wave of Transformers Prime, but also the new Marvel Legends! With the demise of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Marvel Legends"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/mlho01.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":17189,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=17189","url_meta":{"origin":17391,"position":4},"title":"Marvel Legends 2-in-1 Ghost Rider & Variant Review (Terrax)","date":"February 27, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I know we\u2019d need a Thing Review to be a proper Two-In-One, but let\u2019s overlook that and have some fun, alright? Terrax is complete, but I\u2019ve still got two Marvel Legends reviews before him (not to mention MOTUCS, Joes, DCUCs\u2026). Here\u2019s Ghost Rider and you\u2019ll find Constrictor conveniently to the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Marvel Legends"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17208,"url":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=17208","url_meta":{"origin":17391,"position":5},"title":"Marvel Legends 2-in-1 Constrictor Review (Terrax)","date":"February 27, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Nope, there\u2019s no Thing in today's Two-In-One, but we\u2019ve got two great Marvel Legends up for review nonetheless. Ghost Rider\u2019s review is on the books, so it\u2019s time to take a look at the final figure in the Terrax Wave (though, ironically, it was one of the first I purchased):\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Marvel Legends"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17391"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17391"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17391\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17413,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17391\/revisions\/17413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}